Impossible Crusaders
by FrontlineWire
Summary: Reed has always wanted to become a Shinigami. When the opportunity is suddenly thrust upon him, he can't do anything but accept. Of course, not everyone has the same intentions in recruiting Reed into the Soul Society. OC
1. This Side

_Umm...woo-hoo? My first chapter's up. ...Hoo-rah? *Cough* Well, I feel Bleach deserves my own miscellaneous made-up character. Soo...ta-dah? Anyway. _

* * *

"Maketakunai shi, nakitakunai shi, waratte-tai kara, movin' movin', itsumo douri utata negorori, manga bakari parapara mekuri, zayuu no mei funny and easy, kiraku ni ikitai…"

"Cut that out, will ya?"

"Masa." Reed grinned. He and Masato had been together since they arrived in the West Rukongai district. It'd been seven years so far, and Masato was still the same clumsy little kid. "I swear," Reed laughed, "you haven't grown an inch in all these years."

Masato pouted. "I have…about this much." He held his fingers about a centimeter apart.

Locking his arm around his neck, Reed pulled them both over into a pit of mud. "Oh gross!" Masato exclaimed, knocking Reed back off his feet. "Seriously why do you like that song so much?" he asked, pinning Reed down.

"Hey, you know the lyrics:" Reed shoved Masato back. "Don't wanna lose, don't wanna cry, 'cause I wanna keep laughing," he paused to regain his footing. "movin' movin', sleeping spread out as always, more and more, just reading manga, flippin' pages, the inscription by my side; funny and easy," and as Masato shoved him over again, "wanna live life easy!"

"Oh come on!" Masato whined. "What the hell's that supposed to mean anyway?!"

Reed shrugged. "Dunno, but I think somehow it applies to me. Y'know," he grabbed Masato's ear and yanked it. "like some sort of destiny thing."

"Ow!" Masato shrieked. "Really, Riido…destiny? Who believes in that crap?"

"Apparently," Reed stood and helped his friend up. "I do."

"Apparently…"

HITOTSU : TEMAENOHOU*

"He's an exceptional character."

"And his friend, Vado Masato?"

"Vado is currently in the west rukongai district, along with Hasami-san. I wouldn't bother with him, though; he's useless to us."

"So then, Hasami-san* it is? Please allow me two days to bring him back safely."

"Good."

* * *

"It's like this," Masato made a sphere with his hands. "and it shoots you out of a huge cannon! And then BAM you're in!"

"Seriously?!" Reed nearly jumped out of his seat. "Man! Imagine how cool it would be to be in the Seireitei! And it'd be even cooler to be a soul reaper!" Reed's astonishment was interrupted, however, with a smack across the face from his older brother, Aojiroi.

"Absolutely not! The Seireitei is full of those damned things. They've hardly done anything at all for our benefit."

"When will you stop hating them because you couldn't be one of them?" Reed said nonchalantly, getting a snort and another smack across the face from Aojiroi.

"Guy needs a chill pill." Masato yawned. "Still, they'd probably arrest us for trespassing. Remember? You gotta be with a soul reaper to get in there to even become a soul reaper."

"So? I'll fight my way through until I beat every one of 'em. And then I won't have to take a test or anything."

"Wouldn't that be risky though? We'd probably die before we could even take two steps in there."

Reed rolled his eyes. "Weren't you the one who suggested we go in there in the first place?"

"I was just explaining it!" Masato defended. "I know this Ganju guy, see, and his sister is the one who runs the thing."

"Hmm…they the Shiba guys?" Reed scratched the back of his ear. He met Ganju once last year, when Masato took him to see the cannon. They hadn't been so caught up in getting inside the seiretei as they had been with how big it was. "Man that was one huge cannon…" Reed thought aloud. "And that girl, Kukaku I think…her boobs were twice as big!"

"Hey, she's mine!" Masato teased. He pounced Reed, throwing him on the ground. They wrestled around on the floor until Aojiroi scolded them and told them to go outside. They brought their lunch outside and ate at the lakefront.

"You think maybe Ao will respect me more if I become a soul reaper and get him in too?"

"Dunno man." Masato stared at the green water. "Anything's possible I guess, but your brother's pretty uptight about things. I'd say you have about a 2% chance of becoming a soul reaper just by sneaking in and killing everyone, and your chances are even lower of getting your brother in as well."

"Pff. Thanks. That made me feel great." Reed grumbled. He set his rice bowl down and fell back in the grass. "Masa?"

"Hm?" he mumbled.

"I wanna fight. I wanna be a soul reaper, and I'll be the strongest one of 'em all. I know I'll have to train a lot, and it'll be years before I'm even in the seiretei, but I wanna do it." He turned his head toward his friend. "You can come with. We'll be unstoppable."

"Seriously?" Masato's eyes brightened a bit. "You'd let me come?"

Reed nodded, and watched Masato jump in the air and let out a whoop before sitting down again and grinning to himself. "Then I guess I'll have to be pretty strong too huh?"

"Hell yeah!" Reed cheered.

"We can train together too. Maybe I'll even beat you one day!"

"Ha-ha! You can hope!" Reed tackled him into the water.

Masato chuckled, and then paused. "Hey Reed? I got this funny feeling."

"You gotta pee." Reed replied nonchalantly. "The lake's all yours, buddy" he said, getting out.

"No, no…" Masato shook his head. "I mean like…like I sense there's something coming. Y'know, like when you know your birthday's in a few days, only this is a…a weird kind of version of that."

"That would be my spiritual pressure."

"M-Masa…" Reed stuttered, staring at the figure looming over the two. She was petite, yet she seemed six feet tall. Her hair was sleek and black, and she had a piercing look in her eyes. "Who are you..?"

"My name is Soi Fon. I am captain of the second division, and commander of the Onmitsukidō, and ninth head of the Fon family. I have been sent to retrieve a Reed Scissormouth."

"Riido…" Masato trembled. "This girl's a soul reaper!"

"I know…" Reed said lowly. "Why do you need to 'retrieve' me?"

"I should not need to explain my reasons," she looked down her nose at him. "but if you must know, it has been a request from Yamamoto; captain of the first division and general of the gotei 13."*

"Why'd he want anything to do with me?" He asked, though he didn't know anything about a Yamamoto person.

Soi Fon sneered. "You ask too many questions! You must come with me now; I've been allowed a limited amount of time to bring you to the seiretei safely."

"…What about Masato? I won't go if he doesn't come." Reed said defiantly, much to Soi Fon's annoyance.

"Riido, it's okay." Masato urged. "You and I were just talking about how much we wanted to go to the Seireitei. This is your chance! Whoever this Yamamoto guy is, he must be pretty high up in the rankings, and if he's requesting you then that means you can become a soul reaper! And then when you're captain, you can come and get me, and we'll fight each other." Masato's eyes were shining. "Okay?"

"You sure..?" Reed asked reluctantly.

Soi Fon urged, "There isn't much time!"

Nodding, Masato grinned. "C'mon man, it'll be so cool. Go for it!"

"Okay…" he sighed. "But!" he said before Soi Fon could take him away. "You train hard while I'm gone. I don't wanna have to kick your butt too hard when I'm a captain. And, uhh…what was it…Lady Fon?"

"What is it?" she sounded ready to take his head off.

"Can I go to the Seireitei by myself? There's this thing I've been dying to try…"

* * *

Looking down upon the Soul Society, Reed laughed. the sheild-like orb he was in prevented him from getting injured, as he approached quickly, and landed hard, much to the displeasure of miscellaneous soul reapers in the area. "Soi Fon!" he shouted. "I'm heeeere!"

"Which is exactly why I was wondering whether I should kill you on the spot or handle you humainly…"

"Soi…Hey, I didn't know you could turn into a guy." Reed said stupidly, looking over his shoulder at the much taller soul reaper behind him.

"I'm not Soi Fon." He said calmly. "My name is Shūhei Hisagi, lieutenant of the ninth division. What's a ryoka* like you doing here?"

"Huh? I've got special permission to be here." Reed replied, turning around to face him. "Some Yamamoto guy sent Soi Fon here to "retrieve" me."

"Y-Yamamoto?" His composure shook. "What would he want with a kid like you?"

Reed shrugged. "Dunno. Ask him. Anyway, I think I oughtta be on my way now." He stepped forward a few steps, and was stopped by Shūhei.

"If you're telling the truth, then how come you didn't come with Soi Fon as your escort?" he asked, thinking 'What a stupid idea…'

"Dude!" Reed pulled him down to his level. "You haven't lived until you've come here by means of…" 'Cue corny background music' Reed thought. "the Shiba family cannon, run yearly by Kūkaku Shiba herself!"

"You're a weird little kid, you know that?"

"I get it from my brother." Reed replied. He weaseled away from Shūhei and sprinted towards the meeting point.

"You!" Soi Fon picked him out from far away. "You've wasted too much time; Yamamoto will not be pleased if we make him wait any longer. This way." She directed him sternly through the seireitei to the Central 46.*

"So…is this Yamamoto guy kind of like the head of everything? Of all the captains and divisions, and he oversees everything?"

"He is the general of the Gotei 13. The thirteen court guard companies."

"And what about Onmitsukidō? What's that?"

Soi Fon looked down at him. "Onmitsukidō; Special Forces, Covert Ops. It is a separate branch of the Soul Society's army, tied to the Shihōin family." She looked like she wanted to stop talking, but because Reed looked like he was going to ask again, she added, "I am head of the Punishment Force as well. It is my job to oversee that any punishment that is needed is dealt, whether it be to ex-comrades or serving as scouts in battles against hollows."

"Oh…boy do I know hollows…" Reed mumbled. "My family was killed by a hollow; Grand Fisher. Sometimes I think it was my fault. Except I was the only one who got away…I don't think Grand Fisher was even aiming for my parents."

Soi Fon didn't know where this sudden amount of words was coming from. A hollow wasn't usually something of interest to her, but to a human it could be devastating. She asked, "How did you end up in the Rukongai, then?"

"That…that I still don't know. It was like I just woke up one day here. I met Masa that day, too." Reed smiled at the thought of him and his friend finally being able to fight as soul reapers. "So I guess it's not all bad, though I'd still like to know what happened."

"That seems like an interesting story…but we should probably save that for another occasion."

"Captain Ukitake." Soi Fon greeted him. "I did not know you would be greeting us here."

"Specific orders from Yamamoto." He replied, smiling at both her and Reed. "You must be Hasami-san. It's nice to meet you."

"Um, nice to meet you too." Reed studied him; pale skin, white long hair and a friendly aura about him. Yup. This would be Reed's new friend when he became a soul reaper.

Ukitake took him from there inside. "I am Jūshirō Ukitake, captain of the thirteenth division. You may call me Ukitake, Hasami-san."

"Sure." They walked in silence for a bit. "Hey, Ukitake?"

He answered with a cheery "Hm?", a cough, and a "Pardon me."

"Why are you calling me that? Hasami-san?"

"It's your last name; Scissormouth. It is a very unique name, being that it is not Japanese. The first part, scissor, can be translated into Japanese as 'hasami'."

"Really?" Struck by this news, Reed stopped to contemplate his name. "I hadn't known my name wasn't Japanese…okay then, why the 'san'? I'm not really that important…am I?"

Smiling, Ukitake answered, "That is because you are indeed important, Hasami-san. Not only that, but I believe even you, though lower in status than me, should be treated with respect."

"Oh…thanks, I guess…"

"You're quite welcome." Ukitake answered cheerily, and then coughed rapidly. "You'll have to excuse me." He said before disappearing down another hallway. "Keep walking forward until you reach a pair of large double doors!" his coughs echoed.

"Forward…forward…double doors…double doors…" When Reed reached what seemed like a pair of hundred-foot-tall doors, he was surprised when they opened for him, revealing an estimated fifty men sitting adjacent to each other, all looking his way. At the other end of the large white room, a very old man sat, his beard and eyebrows drooping.

"Hasami-san." The old man stood up. "We've been expecting you." And at the notice of the absence of his escort, he chuckled. "Couldn't handle walking down a hallway, eh, Jūshirō? Come, Hasami. There is much to discuss."

"Uh, can we do that quickly? See, my friend Masa kind of snuck in with me and he's probably being attacked by a bunch of soul reapers right about now so if we could make this quick that would be real great."

Silence. No one spoke, until the old man stood up once more and said, "It seems like we have a restless one here. Well then, we'll get started shall we?" he sat down again, and looked Reed up and down. "You, Reed Scissormouth…are an exceptional boy." Reed was shocked by this, but didn't say anything and listened more intently. "We've heard comments from Ikkanzaka Jidanbō of your life in the sixteenth district in West Rukongai. It seems you've spent only a short amount of time thinking of becoming a soul reaper."

'This is it..!' Reed thought, waiting anxiously for the old man to announce his acceptance into the thirteen court guard companies.

"But before we get to the point, I must give you this bit of information…"

"What is it…?" Reed asked, nearly dying of anticipation.

The old man nodded to himself. "Though we do not know how exactly you ended up in the Rukongai, or anything of you past- as with most souls in the same area as you- we do know that your brother, Aojiroi Scissormouth had taken a test not too long ago to become a soul reaper. As I'm sure you know, that didn't go too well, but for good reason." The air around the room seemed to darken and thicken. "Aojiroi has been accused of murder a staggering 27 times. He was banished to the 80th division in West Rukongai, but has been working his way back up.

"So, what does my brother killing people have to do with me being here?" Reed asked, unaware of his brother's crimes.

"That is where I am going. Aojiroi's test scores were magnificent; he ranked number one of any other soul reapers-in-training that year. But because of his crimes, he could not join the thirteen court guard companies. Now, assuming he is your brother, you should have the same ability as him, and maybe even more. You would be an advantage to the Seireitei. Frankly speaking, we need you, Reed Scissormouth. And I, Shigekuni Genryūsai Yamamoto, am asking you to join the first court guard company, regardless of the test or not. Training will be a requirement. You have 72 hours to come to me with your final decision."

"Y-yeah…" Reed stammered, not believing his luck. He exited and found a captain similar to Ukitake, but with shorter hair.

"Ah, Hasami-san. It's nice to finally meet the child prodigy everyone'd been talking about."

"Yeah I get that a bit…" Reed blushed.

The man never wiped the mocking smile off his face. "I am captain of the third division, Ichimaru Gin. Because of this rare occasion, I suppose you may call me Gin."

"Sure." Reed would have said he had shifty eyes, had they not been narrowed to slits. He followed Gin to his room, where he'd stay until he decided to become a soul reaper. Reed flopped down on his bed and exhaled. He'd have to fetch Masato soon, else lose his best friend to a soul reaper.

"If you need anything, find me." Gin said before closing the door, and- if even possible- smiled even more as his good-bye. And as Gin's footsteps echoed quietly, he thought to himself. 'Aizen will surely be interested in this boy…'

* * *

Hitotsu : Temaenohou- One : This Side (title)

Hasami-san- 'hasami' means 'scissors' in Japanese, while 'san' is a formal suffix

Ryoka- an intruding soul in the Seireitei; one who entered illegally without assistance of a soul reaper

Central 46- made up of 40 wise men and 6 judges chosen from the Soul Society; it is like a form of government

_

* * *

_

_I feel a need to put in the definitions of certain words. Even though most Bleach fans already know what they are, it kind of helps me keep track of what I'm writing. Okay so that was chapter one...not all that exciting, but it sets up a base for future chapters. Hope that wasn't too yawn-inducing..._


	2. Shark

_I don't think I have enough of a "hook" for my story. It gets better as you go along, and I'm going to be adding more and more detail as I go to hopefully make up for the lack of interest. Oh wait, that's wrong...why read a story that's boring and has A LOT of boring in it? Eh, I try._

* * *

"You mean he didn't even take a test or try to prove to anyone why he should be a soul reaper? They just invited him?"

"Of course. His brother was number one of his year; it's no doubt that his younger brother will be just the same, if not, better. And especially with the information that he has not yet committed any crimes; of course Yamamoto would be interested in him."

"Right right…I wonder if he's cute!"

"I'm about ready to freeze you into a popsicle, Rangiku." He paused, "Hasami Riido."

Reed stood up upon the captain's entry. "What is it?"

"I am captain of the tenth division, Tōshirō Hitsugaya; you may address me as captain Hitsugaya, and this my lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto."

Reed observed the four-foot, white-haired captain standing in front of him, along with the taller, big-breasted woman to his back right. "Hmm…a midget and a ginger. Wonder who made the mistake in pairing you two up?" Reed could see the veins pop up on Hitsugaya's forehead.

"It is 'captain Hitsugaya', and you will address me as such!" he took a breath to calm down and continued, "It has been a specific request of Yamamoto to oversee your training. Regardless of your decision, we need to know your potential as a soul reaper."

Reed nodded. "Sure, shor…er, captain Hitsugaya. Where are we going to train?"

"Follow me." He replied simply. Reed followed them both out and ended up at Matsumoto's side. She smiled and played with the necklace hiding between her massive chest.

"Sometimes I think I'm a little too large, y'know?" she said casually. Reed stared wide-eyed at her and nodded absently.

"S-so…" he started, snapping out of his daze. "What kind of training are we gonna do?"

Matsumoto shrugged. "I don't really know. Because Tōshirō is a captain and you're just some kid from West Rukongai, it's tough to say. You two are so far apart in ability."

"I'll take that as an "I don't know"…" Reed muttered. He followed them out to what he would later know as the Shinōreijutsuin.*

Hitsugaya stopped. "Captain of fifth division should be here by now."

"You mean Aizen?" Reed asked, surprising even Hitsugaya.

"How do you know him?" Matsumoto jumped to the question before her captain could. She leaned over Reed, though only three inches taller.

"My brother, actually. They used to be friends, and Aizen came over frequently."

"To the Rukongai..?" Hitsugaya said in disbelief. "I don't remember ever hearing of him having a friend there, or ever visiting. Rangiku, did you know of this?"

"Nope." She said, mock-saluting him, much to his annoyance. Before they could question any further, Hitsugaya felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Ah, captain. We've been waiting."

FUTATSU : WANIZAME*

"I can see." Aizen smiled. He noticed Reed standing not far away and nodded at him. "It is nice to see you again, Hasami."

Reed nodded his head nervously, suddenly remembering that Hasami was what Aizen used to call him. He felt stupid for asking Ukitake about his name. "Is this where I'll train?" Reed asked, looking around. They were in front of the Shinou Institute of Spiritual Art, and students were milling about, occasionally stopping to see what the small group was about. Aizen explained they'd be training in an area reserved specifically for them, and brought them to the large, gymnasium-like room. It was empty except for the four of them.

"General Yamamoto is in a separate room. He will be watching our training session." Aizen explained. They stopped in the middle of the room and faced each other. "Hasami, because we do not know your level of combat, you will train with a regular katana.* We will also be testing your ability to perform kidō."*

"Um, o-okay." Reed answered, taking the katana Aizen handed him.

"Now, because of our status," Aizen gestured to Hitsugaya, himself, and Matsumoto, "we cannot fight you ourselves, however, my lieutenant would be willing, would you not, Hinamori?"

A small, black-haired girl in a traditional shihakushō appeared out of nowhere from behind Aizen. She bowed- though Reed didn't know why- and introduced herself as, "Momo Hinamori, lieutenant of the fifth division, reporting."

"Hinamori, as I'm sure you know, Hasami is a very important guest in the Seireitei. Please allow him to show us some of his fighting potential."

"Yes, Aizen." She looked up at him with adoring eyes, and then faced Reed as the others stood off to the side. "We'll start off with regular blade-to-blade combat, and then move on to hakuda."*

Reed nodded, and watched her draw her sword; her zanpaku-tô.* She seemed to hesitate, but surprised Reed by using shunpo* and nearly slicing off his arm. Reed spun to face her, nearly dropped his sword when ducking to avoid another hit, and swung beneath her as she jumped.

"Too slow!" she scolded. Reed was beginning to think she wasn't the sweet little lieutenant she started out to be. He corrected his stance, but didn't have time to evade a blow to his right shoulder.

"Damn!" he swung his arm around, meeting his fist with the right side of her neck. She choked, but quickly composed herself and used shunpo once more to set some distance between them.

Aizen stood in the far corner away from everyone else. "He seems to incorporate hakuda into traditional sword-fighting." He mumbled to himself.

"Watch your back!" she shouted commands to him, dashing forward and appearing to go to his backside again, but instead bringing her zanpaku-tô down on his left shoulder, however; narrowly missing him. He was just short of using shunpo, facing around to her back and locking his arm around her neck, like he did with Masato, though this time his blade was centimeters from her jugular.

Clapping, Aizen stepped forward. "That was quite impressive. Though…Hinamori," he allowed Reed to release her. "you may have been fighting at a level too low for Hasami. I would have you two battle once more, but we should move on to kidō."

"Umm…question." Reed unnecessarily raised his hand. "What is kidō?"

Smiling, Aizen replied, "Hinamori here, is an expert in kidō, which is a form of spells. There are three types of kidō; binding spells, destruction spells, and healing spells. First you'll be practicing bakudō; binding spells."

Hinamori took over from there, "Each spell is graded on a scale of one to ninety-nine, the latter being the more difficult to perform. We'll start with a simple one; number nine, Geki.* Recite the incantation as I do."

"I'll volunteer to be Hasami's training doll!" Matsumoto jumped in. She buried Reed in her chest and rubbed her cheek on his head. "Won't I Reedy?"

"Seeing as how I have no choice, I suppose so, Matsumoto." Reed said, slightly annoyed.

"Let's begin." Hinamori wasted no time. She stood next to Reed, with Matsumoto facing them both from fifteen meters away. "Say after me; _Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini!_"

Though Reed didn't entirely understand the incantation, he repeated anyway; "_Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat!_"

What happened was to everyone's surprise; the spell should have wrapped the target in red light, paralyzing it immediately. Instead, an electric current- visibly red- engulfed Matsumoto, sending 15,000 watts of electricity through her spinal cord. Her scream pierced Reed's ears, nearly causing them to bleed, as her body buckled and shrunk into itself, her crippled figure lying on the floor.

"Rangiku!" Hitsugaya dashed to her side, as Hinamori quickly performed Keikatsu* on her. Aizen stood a few feet back, with Reed nearly unconscious five meters away. Aizen noticed him; the blank look on his face, contrasting to the fear in his eyes at his own power. Aizen grinned, but not at Reed. Ichimaru's report on Hasami had only described half of his total power. And if Reed was anything like his brother, Aizen was sure to put him to good use…

"Hasami." Reed's eyes finally tore from Matsumoto's twitching body to look at Aizen. "We shouldn't interfere with the healing process. Your training is over for today. I think I've seen quite a bit of what you're able to do." He led Reed outside, to where Gin Ichimaru was waiting with a short, red-haired ryoka boy.

"I believe this is yours." Gin said to Reed, who forgot completely about what had happened and nearly tackled Masato to the ground.

"Masa! What took you so long!"

Masato growled. "What took me so long? What took you so long, huh?! I was nearly killed by this guy!"

"Of course you were. You need to learn to fight!"

Ichimaru cleared his throat. "Is he with you, Hasami-san?"

Reed nodded. "Um, is anyone going to kick him out since he's technically a ryoka?" he made sure to inform Masato of everything he'd learned so far in the Seireitei.

"You are staying in the Central 46 Chambers, Hasami? Then I think it should be discussed with the Central 46, however, I will make sure that any needs you have are taken care of, and if that includes your friend staying with you, then I suppose I will allow it."

"Awesome!" Masa exclaimed. He followed Reed back to his room, not stopping for two seconds to take a breath of air. "So after that Soi Fon chick gave up on looking for me, I ran towards West Rukongai but was stopped by this huge spiritual pressure. I almost don't know why he didn't bother to block it when he knew there was a ryoka running around, but this guy was like…DUDE!!!" Masato grabbed Reed by the collar of his shirt. "This guy was so freaking awesome! He's got bells in his hair which I think is a little girly, frankly, but he's gotta be an amazing fighter!"

"I believe you are talking about captain of squad eleven; Kenpachi Zaraki." Gin looked over his shoulder at the two. Aizen walked ahead of them, seemingly avoiding the three.

"Zaraki…" Masa thought. "Yeah, he seems like a Zaraki. Seriously Reed, we gotta fight this guy!"

Reed rolled his eyes and chuckled. "We're not even soul reapers yet. And you're still "uninvited" here. Why don't we wait until we're captain-class reapers to fight him."

"That's pretty rational thinking, Hasami-san." Gin observed. "Your brother used to talk like that when he was here."

"Ao…yeah…" Reed didn't know what had triggered it, but he suddenly remembered what happened with Rangiku Matsumoto not thirty minutes ago. "Will she be okay?" he asked to no one in particular.

Opening the door to their room, Aizen answered, "It'll depend. Hinamori is extremely skilled in kidō, but that spell you used seemed to be very powerful as well."

"Do you think…" Reed hesitated as Masa ran in and jumped on the bed like a ten-year-old, despite his being fifteen. "That was an accident? I don't know what the spell should have looked like."

Aizen still smiled down at him. "The spell looked exactly as it should have, the only problem… The only problem being that instead of simply paralyzing her, a volt of electricity emitted from the spell. In a way it paralyzed her, but not without causing serious damage."

"Oh…is…that what happened with my brother?"

"You mean the murders? Well…" Aizen paused to peer into the room at Masato; still jumping around like a lunatic. "I wasn't there myself, but from what I heard, he'd performed such powerful spells that the instructors had to isolate him from the other students to avoid injury. It's unclear whether the murders were intentional or not, but I have reason to believe they weren't. The first to die was by his hand. He was performing a healing spell. I think the same thing that happened with you did with him. And besides, Matsumoto is merely paralyzed, not dead."

"But what about other times? I remember him coming home one day saying "It was just a Shimoku*, just a Shimoku." What was that about?"

Aizen sighed, but still smiled. "I'll be able to answer more of your questions tomorrow. Sleep well." He said before disappearing down the hallway.

"Hmmm…" Reed mumbled something to himself and closed the door behind him.

"Do you think they'll work?" Ichimaru asked, once the two were out of ear-shot of Reed and Masato. "This is the Central 46…"

"I have no doubt in my mind that it will, Gin. We may be tampering with the Central 46 Chambers, but you're forgetting the power of my zanpaku-tô."

Gin smiled even wider. "You never fail to amuse me, captain."

* * *

Shinōreijutsuin- Spiritual Arts Academy, sometimes called the Shinigami/Soul Reaper Academy

Katana- a Japanese sword, sometimes called a "samurai sword"

Futatsu : Wanizame- Two : Shark

Kidō- "demon way" or "spirit way"; spells of three different categories; bakudō- binding spells-, hadō- destruction spells-, and healing spells, of which have no particular name

Hakuda- physical combat

Zanpaku-tô- "soul-cutter sword"; the main weapon of Shinigami, Arrancars and Vizards

Shunpo- flash step

Shinigami- "death god", also known as Soul Reapers

Keikatsu- a healing form of kidō

Shimoku- an uncategorized form of kidō; this ability causes the target to become poisoned

* * *

_The first three or four chapters are (unfortunately) not-so-exciting, but only because I need to set up a base for my story. Also, reviews would be MUCH APPRECIATED since in my view, every author deserves to know how their stories are doing, and what kind of help they need. So, thanks for the non-exsistant feedback guys. :] (Note sarcasm) I'll update at least twice a week for now, but later on I can start posting at least three times a week. A little fast I guess, but that's just me. If you're not speeding down the highway at break-neck speed, you're going too slow._


	3. Plan

_Too short. Must...make...longer!! *fart* Oh wait, never mind. _

* * *

"Kimi wa kimi da tashika…inai yo kawari nante hoka ni inain da…karenai de…ichirin no hana…"

"You seem to be quite fond of that song?"

"Gin." Reed half smiled, intimidated by the one glued to Gin's face. "Not really. It's just something Masa taught me. My favorite is…a different one."

Ichimaru entered the room from his position of leaning in the doorway. He placed a hand on Reed's shoulder. "A good fighter, skilled in kidō, and you can sing. Very interesting." He said this as if Reed weren't there.

"I guess…" Reed was busy looking out the window at the Seireitei. He wondered what he'd do about Masato, who would have to attend the Shinōreijutsuin, while himself would be emitted into squad one immediately. "Wonder if I can actually do it, though…"

Gin removed his hand and faced Reed. "I haven't a doubt that you won't. Your brother was very skilled, so you should have no trouble. And besides," he added, before leaving. "if you need anything, I'm available, as is Aizen."

MITTSU : TSUMORI

"You sure you only got one more day?" Masato whined. "That's too short. I need more time."

Reed waved his hand in dismissal of Masato's ignorance. "Stupid. I'll have you in or I'll slice off their heads." He wrapped his arm around his friend's shoulder. "Got it?"

Masato nodded. His eyes sparkled. "Hey Riido…it's that Zaraki guy."

"Where?!" Reed jumped.

"Nowhere!" Masato laughed. "You're obsessed!"

"With pummeling you! Punk!" Reed laughed and tackled his friend. They rolled around on the ground before Soi Fon scolded them, and told them to get up.

She ordered, "Instead of fooling around why don't you two focus on your decisions! Hasami-san, you've one more day to decide, and as for your friend…" she looked upon Masato with a hint of disgust, but Reed saw it there. "We'll need to find out a place for him to stay, and whether or not he even has any abilities at all."

"What're you talking about?!" Reed defended. "He sensed your spiritual pressure when I didn't! That should be enough right?"

Soi Fon snorted and took a second glance at him: scrawny and tall, messy red hair in uneven strands, and no sense of direction- she'd seen him walk into walls twice. She ignored him. "We're heading out East, where we'll have more training ground."

"What? More training?" Reed complained. When Soi Fon didn't answer, he followed anyway, Masato close on his heels. The field they were in was quite empty and full of trees- not too many though- and long blades of grass. The grass kind of reminded Reed of Hinamori's zanpaku-tô. He wanted one desperately. He hadn't ever even considered being a soul reaper until recently; he still had doubts about it. Would he be good enough?

"Here." Soi Fon suddenly halted. She looked over her shoulder at Reed, and appeared in an instant behind him. "This is called shunpo, otherwise known as 'flash step'. You'll need to learn this, along with a number of other combat techniques."

"Shunpo? Pff." Reed copied Soi Fon, instead moving away from her to where she had been before. "Ichimaru already taught me that. He says it's a mediocre move that any amateur should know."

"What kind of arrogance is this?!" Soi Fon raised her chin, having not expected the blow.

Reed shrugged. "I intend to listen to him. I'll listen to you too though." He quickly added once receiving the piercing look from her. Masato sat quietly in the shade of a tree, watching the dispute. He couldn't even use shunpo. He scolded himself for being so pathetic.

"Hmph," was her conclusion. "It is not wise to assume that this training will be simple. Do not attempt to do anything rash simply because you get a few petty compliments from General Yamamoto. But…" she lowered her eyes in a demonic way. "I suppose I could teach you a lesson."

"What kind of lesson?" Reed asked calmly, though inside he was shaking like a tiny little leaf.

She walked towards him, making his nerves shudder. "You think you're strong?" she announced, head held high. "Let's see you try to take down a fully-fledged Hollow!"

* * *

"Remarkable."

"I didn't expect less." Aizen grinned. The cameras he'd installed in Reed's chamber and other places were revealing much more information than he needed, but it was useful.

"He's a bit full of himself, taking on captain of second company like that." Ichimaru observed.

Aizen paused to listen; "Hollow? You know I can't do that." Reed refused, looking hurt to Aizen. "Then you're not ready! And you aren't!" Soi Fon said. Reed looked insulted. He put his foot forward, "But you know what happened with Grand Fisher!" "This is not Grand Fisher, Hasami!" Soi Fon raised her voice. She, too, stepped forward. "If you think you can't fight it, you can't. You're not ready." Reed protested, "But I am!" "Prove it." Soi Fon composed herself. "Defeat a Hollow."

"The boy was probably largely affected by what happened to his family."

"Most likely. However, that's only a minor detail of his past. I am not concerned with that…" he replied, closely noting Reed's hunched over, legs spread to shoulder-length, shoulders arched, hands tight/knuckles white stance. He looked eager to fight, and it showed in doing so. he came out clean, except for one large gash on his left bicep. For a boy who just appeared out of nowhere from the Rukongai to fight like this was amazing. 'We don't see many people like this often anymore…' Aizen thought. He watched as Soi Fon sent in Hollow after Hollow after Hollow at this boy, and each time he only came out with bruises and scratches.

"This next Hollow looks interesting." Gin remarked. "Wasn't the human a gang leader before he died?"

"Who knows?" Aizen said, interested not in the Hollow, but in Reed's ability. He typically interpreted hakuda into regular zanjutsu*, but used shunpo minimally. He was naturally quick, and took out Hollows at a speed of one per two minutes. So far he'd finished six, this one being his seventh. He seemed to have a usual finishing blow; a heavy kick to the right side of the head.

"Sometimes this training seems pointless to me." Gin yawned. "The boy is good enough to be called a Shinigami now."

"I'll allow you to inform Yamamoto about that yourself, Gin." And observing closely Reed one last time, Aizen added, "Today. The sooner he becomes a soul reaper the better my plan."

"Right away." The swoosh of Gin's haori* punctuated his exit.

* * *

Stunned, Soi Fon shuddered. Reed's physical strength was above-average, even by Shinigami standards, yet…yet he released no spiritual pressure whatsoever. She knew now that she was dealing with a different kind of kid. "Hasami-san." She announced they'd be leaving now to speak to Yamamoto about his progress.

"How come I never get to fight?" Masato whined. He scratched his belly. "I wanna be a Shinigami too."

"You'll have to pass the entrance exam just like everybody else, kid." Soi Fon answered bitterly. They walked back at a good pace to the Central 46, where Shunsui Kyōraku greeted them outside.

"Greetings, young soul reaper boy." He said to Reed. And to Masato, "Young ryoka boy."

"I'm not a ryoka!" Masato growled. He was beginning to dislike the special treatment Reed was receiving.

Reed looked uncertainly at the six-foot-three, smiling captain before him. He was wearing a ladies' kimono draped over his shoulders. 'What a…a…a…'

"Puss." Masato muttered.

'Yeah, that.' Reed finished his thought. "Yeah. You too."

Kyōraku led them inside to the same room Reed ended up in when he first arrived. General Yamamoto was in the same spot, as were the others, only this time, Gin Ichimaru stood right beside him. What was he up to..?

"Hasami-san, I trust you have been doing well?"

Reed nodded. "I have, General Yamamoto."

Yamamto nodded at nothing in particular. "Now…before we begin, captain of third division, Ichimaru, has given me some most surprising news."

Soi Fon flinched. What would Gin know that she didn't?

"You see…Ichimaru has informed me that he would make it his personal responsibility to emit you into the Soul Society as a Shinigami today." Reed nearly choked with happiness. "Now, that sounds neither good nor bad to me, but it is truly up to you, Hasami."

"Y-yeah…" he stuttered. "Only if Masa gets into the Shinigami Academy, though."

Yamamoto's eyes widened, then shrank back to their normal size. "I suppose I could do that. He'll need to pass the entrance exam as any other student. Would you be willing to do that, Vado Masato?"

Masato gave a firm nod of his head. He stood awkwardly at attention, making Reed chuckle to himself.

"Then…the decision is made!" the General announced. "Reed Scissormouth…welcome to the Soul Society."

* * *

"Woo-hoo!" Reed high-fived Masato, nearly taking off both their arms. "Awesome!! And how easy was that?!"

"Don't be so arrogant!" Soi Fon said.

Reed teased, "What, 'cause you had to work under Yoruichi Shihōin for most of your life? And now you see her again and she whoops your ass?"

Soi Fon raised her hand to punish the boy, but Ichimaru stopped her. "Now now, Soi Fon…don't want to do anything rash, do we?"

Annoyed and fuming, she stormed off, leaving the boys and captain.

"Someone's grouchy." Kyōraku observed. "Well, I'll be taking a nap for the rest of the say. Nice to meet you, Scissors."

"Um, you too…Flowers."

"And you too, Ryoka-Masa." Kyōraku was off before Masato could say anything back, leaving Gin to take them back to their room.

"It's fine Gin, you don't have to."

"You sure, Hasami? It's easy for new-comers to get lost in the Seireitei."

Reed nodded assuringly, stepping closer to Masato. "If I'm gonna be captain-class someday, I'm gonna need to find my own way around here."

"Whatever you say." Gin smiled. "You'll be much more than captain-class, anyway…"

* * *

Mittsu : Tsumori- Three : Plan

Zanjutsu- the art of wielding zanpaku-tô

Lyrics at the beginning of the song- You are you, for sure/There's no substitute anywhere, there is none/Please don't wait, my one flower

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_I think this gets more bland as it goes. =___= At least tell me how to get the damn things into chapters, not seperate stories. Obviously I'm not familiar with this site..._


	4. Growth

_Blah. I skipped an entire three or so months in the story because I'm too lazy to really build up a character's strength or personality. AND I figured out the seperate story to chapter thing so reviews are encouraged. Seriously, guys, I'm dealing with a harsh crowd here. I need some encouragement._

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His blade hung loosely at his side- the metal of the tip clicking against his heels- the only thing holding it up being a thick metal chain the color of a pigeon. He wore his shihakushō* lazily; his back, arms and chest completely bare. He hadn't changed except for muscle growth, and a slight difference in height and weight. Walking briskly, he arrived at the Shinigami Academy in short time, approaching his red-headed friend. He paused, halted, moved off to the side behind a wall and looked over his left shoulder to avoid being seen. 'Too slow, come one…faster…'

"Masa!!"

"Jesus fucking Christ Reed!!" Masato squeaked and jumped back three feet. "You scared the living shit outta me!"

Reed shrugged, "Just my job." And slung his arm around Masato's shoulder. "Doin' well?"

"Hells yeah." Masato replied confidently. He'd been attending the Shinōreijutsuin for eight months now, and stayed behind every day to practice. He knew he was a thousand years behind the ability of his best friend, but he was forcing that large gap to slowly close. "Mid-terms are somewhere in the next month or so, and I should get my overall evaluation soon."

"Great!" Reed exclaimed, then turned sour. "You don't know how boring it is in the Seireitei when you're not here. All they do is order me around."

Masato laughed, "You're not even around for them to order you Riido!"

"Exactly! I got so sick of it I just started skipping."

"You're not going to get anywhere doing that." Ichimaru Gin said teasingly as he passed the two.

Reed rolled his eyes. "Tell that to the old man." he replied, remembering specifically how Gin had made it so that Reed could become a Shinigami just one day faster. Aizen had to have had something to do with that, he figured. "Anyway, Masa, I wanna show you this really cool place I found."

"You probably didn't find it Riido." Masato said; cognizant.

Reed frowned. "Stupid. This is s'pposed to be fun! And what the hell does cognizant mean?!"

Masato shrugged. "Ask the author of this thing. I dunno."

Reed made sure to look that word up later. Or ask the author. Or just ignore it. He led Masato to a large field beneath an ominous cliff looming overhead.

"The hell's that?" Masato said, looking up at it.

"Sōkyoku."* Reed answered simply.

"And that would be..?" Masa asked expectantly, anxiety shown in his hazel eyes.

Reed's brows knotted up. He was thinking hard…or just making a cool face to confuse readers. "We'll find out soon enough. I heard from Soi Fon that there's a soul reaper who's gonna be executed soon."

"Yeah? So it's where they execute criminals, eh..?" Masato glanced side-ways at his friend, who was already walking away. "'Ey Riido!" he called out. Reed stopped and looked over his shoulder, uttering a "what?". "Who's the soul reaper?"

"Huh? Rukia Kuchiki…why?"

YOTTSU : SEIIKU*

"So it's just some giant bird that like…eats people?"

"Nah, nah…it's like…well yeah, a bird but…I heard it's made of fire or something. And I think it just…runs through people and burns them to death."

"Like a cremation?"

Reed shrugged. "I really don't know, but it's gonna be big. You an' me," Reed cocked his chin at his friend. "we're going to see a live execution, so we know what we're up against in the Soul Society."

Masato nodded. "Yeah. You stand a much better chance than me though. I'm still in the damn Academy!"

"Hey now, everyone's gotta go…okay, not everyone…" Reed paused, remembering what happened with him not nine months ago…

* * *

"You would be an advantage to the Seireitei. Frankly speaking, we need you, Reed Scissormouth. And I, Shigekuni Genryūsai Yamamoto, am asking you to join the first court guard company, regardless of the test or not."

* * *

"Wonder if they've ever done that before? Y'know, Masa? Just gone into the Rukongai district and recruit guys from there?"

"Who knows. All I do is that we both got in. By means of…" Reed realized where this was going, and drew in a deep breath along with his friend. "Flower Crane Cannon!!!" they both fell on their backs laughing, remembering the old times in West Rukongai. Reed didn't hear it, but Masato sat up, listening to the familiar ring in his ears of approaching spiritual pressure. He yelled out, seemingly into the empty tree-line, "Whaddaya want?"

"Masa? What're you yelling…"

"You got some pretty damn good sense-a spiritual pressure, kid!"

Masa cocked a brow. "Yeah? Got somethin' to say 'bout it Baldy?"

"I am not bald!!" the lieutenant-class soul reaper bent over, growling through gritted teeth. "Punk! What're you doing outside of the Soul Reaper Academy?"

Reed stood up. "That'd be me. I excused him fer the day. Ya mind? We were talking."

"Hasami…" the man backed down a little. "Well, make sure you inform someone next time!"

Masato stood up. "Excuse me? How can you intrude and just walk off like nothin' happened?! Baldy!"

"I am not bald, you sonova"-

"Enough!" Reed smacked them both upside the head. "Masa, just ignore him. He's just some stupid Shinigami with no manners in particular."

"Says the one who addressed General Yamamoto as 'old man'." He shot back.

"You got a problem?" Reed turned around, looking agitated. "Just 'cause I didn't have to enter that Academy?"

"Hell yeah I got a problem, kid!" he took a step forward, looking ready to take a bite out of Reed's face.

"Then say somethin' 'bout it!" Reed retorted. They were now nearly at each others' throats. Masa's eyes were going back as if watching a tennis game. He watched as they threw insult after retort after meaningless word that kept the argument going, until he copied Reed's action of smacking them both upside the heads.

"What the hell're you two doing?! And who are you anyway?"

Sighing, Reed explained, "This is Madarame Ikkaku, third seat of eleventh division. We met at the same time looking for captain Zaraki."

Ikkaku grinned begrudgingly. "And still a better fighter than your friend here."

"Seriously?" Masato looked at Reed, who nodded reluctantly.

"Hey, I'm only ninth seat in the first division, that's six levels behind him."

Masato sighed. "And? I'm about three six hundred levels behind you."

"Neh, you'll catch up bud."

Ikkaku cleared his throat. "Hey, I know talking about levels is exciting, but captain of second company requested that I find you."

"So this didn't happen by accident?" Reed cocked his head slightly upward.

"No. I dunno what 'bout, but she says it has something to with Rukia Kuchiki."

"The execution girl?" Masa said, earning an annoyed look from Ikkaku.

He nodded. "Her execution is in two weeks."

* * *

"Rukia Kuchiki… what did she do to end up with a death penalty?" Reed asked, Soi Fon walking to the front and left of him. She glanced back.

"I'd assume that is none of your concern… If you must know, she'd been in the human world for quite some time." Soi Fon paused, but only briefly. "As far as I know, she had given him all of her Shinigami power, thus extending her stay in the human world."

"She's being sentenced to death because she was in the human world?" Reed stopped, his brain boiling at how unfair that seemed.

"No." Soi Fon kept moving. "She has been sentenced to death because she did something illegal; she gave up her powers as a Shinigami…to a human, of all things!"

"And apparently, that human is running around here too." Reed said to himself. He remembered hearing from a red-haired lieutenant about a group of ryoka in the Seireitei, saying they were going to rescue Rukia. Ikkaku had also told him about the human's fight with captain Kenpachi Zaraki. It wasn't clear who won, but to fight with a Shinigami at that level…that was amazing enough. "It amazes me that they can't just take back their power. What kind of soul reaper was she anyway? To let a human get that strong is just irresponsible."

"You're thinking logically, Hasami, but it's not that simple. I can't explain any more to you; if you want to do something about it, confront the ryoka."

"Y-you know I can't do that…" he said reluctantly. If he were a cat his ears would be back.

Soi Fon snorted. "You seem to be just fine skipping out on your duties right now. It wouldn't make a difference anyway; the entire Seireitei is looking for the ryoka."

"Really…that strong? This guy is that strong…" Reed suddenly felt anger wash up inside him. He hadn't come to the Soul Society to become the strongest- or maybe he had…just a little- but for a mere human to gain that much power from a soul reaper that couldn't even keep her powers? That was pathetic. It was irritating. It was clawing at Reed's mind for the rest of the day. He didn't feel the urge to fight the human, but he felt like he made the Soul Society look weak. Like they didn't know what they were doing. Like they were a litter of kittens and he was stepping on them. Reed wanted desperately for someone to do something about it.

"Why wouldn't they be able to do anything about it?" he asked himself, pacing back and forth in his room. "Fer Crhist's sake, he's just a freaking human!!"

"So fight him yourself."

"I can't…" Reed said begrudgingly.

"Why not?"

"Because it's not my place!" Reed faced Hitsugaya, who was standing in the doorway.

He snorted in disapproval. "You seem to have no problem slacking off in your duties right now. I would highly disapprove of you doing anything else rash…" he growled, "but if you feel so strongly about this, I wonder why you haven't rebelled and gone off to fight him yourself yet?"

"Because…because I'm only ninth seat. If he can even live to say he fought with a captain, he's too good for me." Reed began to relax a little, realizing his logic. "He's just…too strong…"

"And what exactly are you getting so upset about?" Hitsugaya's brows were knitted. He didn't understand the point behind getting upset over a ryoka.

Sighing, Reed flopped down on his bed. "I don't know…I'm just worn out right now. I'll get upset about it later." To punctuate his point, he rolled over and faced the wall. Hitsugaya took this as an insult, however.

"I'll be seeing you in a few days to discuss your training with captain Aizen. Do not show such disrespect in the presence of a captain, Hasami."

"My apologies, captain Hitsugaya." Reed mumbled loud enough for him to hear. He wasn't below addressing a captain as 'short' anymore. His personality had changed quite a bit from the beginning- from a rowdy kid who wanted to be a soul reaper, to a Shinigami with actual problems in his life. He addressed captains and lieutenants as such, but wasn't above being rude to anyone other than them. He generally kept his nature about him, occasionally being distracted by something "fun", but when he needed to, he could hyper-focus on certain topics. One such topic was this ryoka boy. 'Wonder if I'll ever be that strong…' the thought to himself, trying to maintain being calm. 'He's…he's gotta be something like Zaraki, large, intimidating…yeah…someone anyone can look up to.' Sitting up, he realized, 'What if I used this opportunity to train? He'd be perfect! Sure I can't even beat Ikkaku, the bastard, but if I could just focus my kidō enough to the point where I could paralyze him…' he hesitated. Rangiku Matsumoto. She was still recovering, and could barely even lift a finger. From her shoulders and up, she was fine, but from there down it was…like watching a bug try to fly inside a jar of honey. He suddenly felt immense grief wash over him.

"I should check on her…" he said to himself, heading quickly to the infirmary, where two captains were watching her closely.

"Ah, Hasami-san," Retsu Unohana, captain of squad four, greeted him as he entered. "It is nice to see you again. Rangiku is doing well, however she still cannot move for the most part…" a sad look replaced the smile on her face as Unohana looked upon Rangiku's sleeping face.

"Yeah, nice to see you too, captain." He choked on a swallow, seeing Rangiku's crippled arms and twisted torso. "She's okay?"

"She's fine. The healing process is complete, but the recovery will be long and slow."

"Right…" Reed sighed, and noticed out of the corner of his eye, a keen face looking his way. He turned his head and was confronted with,

"You're an interesting looking specimen… Tell me boy, would you do the favor of being my test subject?"

"Err…test subject? Sorry, I'm not a lab rat." Reed could tell he didn't need to address this captain as such. "Experiment on a hamster an' leave me alone, will ya?"

"Hmm…very touchy. I'd like to investigate that a little more, if you'd let me?"

Unohana stopped him from getting any closer to the boy. "Now, Kurotsuchi, you don't want to do that, now do you? This young man is quite important to us." The smile on her face said 'back off or I'll kill you'. Reed held in a snicker at that.

"Hmm. Ruin my fun why don't you? Hey boy," he said, looking intently at Reed again. "if you ever change your mind, I'm Mayuri Kurotsuchi, captain of twelfth division and second president of the Shinigami Research Institute." He exited with another keen look Reed's way. 'For a mere child to do that much damage to a lieutenant…he must be something exceptional. I'll have to ask Yamamoto about his stats…'

* * *

Sōkyoku- a large halberd, which the Gotei 13 uses to execute Shinigami

Yottsu : Seiiku- Four : Growth/Development

Shihakushō- a soul reaper's uniform

* * *

_I'm somewhat of a sadist/masochist, so Reed and Kurotsuchi are gonna meet again later on. I hope everyone knows that means pain and blood and shit or whatever Kurotsuchi does to his test subjects. _


	5. Jealousy

_Le sigh, damn it. Okay, well, here's chapter five and everything. Read if ya want. I hope it makes enough sense._

* * *

"I apologize for that; he's always looking for new test subjects." Unohana smiled.

"N-No problem…if you don't mind, I really gotta go now…" Reed said before he left in a hurry, passing a very anxious Kurotsuchi on his way out. "I'll get back to ya later on that one!" he called back as he left the building, rushing around the Seireitei anxiously. He was looking for something. He didn't know what he was looking for, but he continues to search every single corner of the Soul Society until he found it. He encountered Ukitake on his way, ignoring his friendly greeting and passing by what looked like a human. Reed stopped. Could that be the ryoka? He definitely didn't look welcome, judging by the way Shunsui Kyōraku, captain of eighth division, was had drawn his zanpaku-tô.

"This is a ryoka..?" Reed observed the red and black armored arm that belonged to the tall cinnamon colored guy. "He doesn't look very powerful…" This angered Reed. If this was one of the main guy's friends, he imagined the one behind all this nonsense wasn't even strong at all! Fuming, Reed dashed to find the ryoka before anyone else did. He wished he could sense spiritual pressure like Masato could. Masato was also very skilled in basic kidō, like Reed, though the latter was stronger. Reed gritted his teeth.

The metal of his sword and chain echoed throughout. His shihakushō rustled noisily, and his muscles rippled with anticipation. Reed finally landed in a concrete clearing. "Finally…got you!" he said in a sing-song voice towards a figure facing away from him. It appeared to be a man, about under six feet tall with wild orange hair. He was wearing a regular shihakushō with his zanpaku-tô across his back, wrapped in white cloth.

ITSUTSU : SHITTO

"'Ey!" Reed shouted, seeming to surprise him. He jumped slightly and turned around. "Where're you supposed to be?"

"M-me?" he said, gesturing to himself, looking surprised.

Reed snorted. "Dumbass. There's no one else here. Now answer my question will ya?"

"With my friends." He answered after slight hesitation.

"Friends?" Sorry buddy, wrong answer. The entire Soul Society's lookin' for a group of ryoka and their wanna-be soul reaper leader. You can't just be hanging out with your friends while this is going on."

The soul reaper looked concerned. Then smug. He grinned. "Sure. Gotta go…"

"Psych!" in a single step, Reed blocked his path, his zanpaku-tô already unsheathed, as seen in his left hand. "And I repeat: dumbass. You think I can't tell a ryoka from an actual Shinigami?"

"Gh!" the ryoka tensed. "You dirty…tricking me like that."

"Yeah? That's my job, kid. Now come on, tell me what the hell's goin' on here?" Reed relaxed, letting his grip on his blade loosen. "The entire damn Soul Society's looking for ya. What makes you so freakin' special?"

"I don't have time for this." He explained. "If you wanna know why I'm here- it's to save Rukia!"

Reed's eyes widened. "That girl? Why? All you did was steal her powers and got her a death sentence for it. And you call her on a first-name-basis? What kind of shit friend is that?"

"One that wants to save Rukia." He answered calmly, almost looking nostalgic.

Reed snorted, and relaxed to a regular stand. He didn't feel as angry before, for some reason. "Her execution's not for another week. You got time. That is, only if you can defeat all thirteen captains."

"I gotta defeat all thirteen?!" he gaped. Reed nodded.

"I'd fight you…but frankly, I'm feeling worn out. I dunno why though…a minute ago I was ready to choke you with your own intestines. Unfortunately, I can't leave though. Gotta do somethin' 'bout these damn ryoka."

"It'd be much easier on you if you let me go." He said, getting impatient.

"Looking for your friends? Eh, saw one of 'em with Kyōraku. Neither seem very strong to me, but your bud's going down, man. You guys don't stand a chance against captain-class Shinigami."

"It wasn't particularly impossible to take down Zaraki."

That little comment made Reed's blood simmer. He'd only met the captain once, but upon the meeting, he vowed immediate respect and loyalty- though he wasn't even in his division. "It was a draw. You didn't take him down."

"No, I didn't." he seemed to say defensively. "But it was close, and that gives me confidence that I can save Rukia!"

"Why're you do damn caught up in this?! It pisses me off that you can be so casual about your own strength! You don't know how lucky you are to be alive, ryoka." His jaw clenched with every passing second that the orange-haired guy didn't drop dead.

"Look, I don't want to fight you, and if you're not going to stop me, then I'll leave!" he half shouted, attempting to pass a now furious Reed.

"Bastard." He tightened his grip on his zanpaku-tô now, hunched over and used shunpo to get close in to the ryoka. His blade plunged through the left side of his abdomen. He coughed. "Think you're something for me to be worried about?" Reed said mockingly as he slowly eased his sword out of the ryoka's mangled flesh.

"That…"

Reed jumped, smashed his left knee into his temple, causing a loud, disgusting crack to petrify his ears. "Just fall already."

"Not that easy." The ryoka smirked and rightened himself, drawing his zanpaku-tô and gripping it with two hands; knuckles white. He let out a roar and came at Reed, who quickly jumped to the right, then went left behind the ryoka so they were back-to-back. The soul reaper switched his sword to his left and swung behind him, barely grazing Reed's right side.

"Too slow." He said, mimicking Hinamori, and remembering a spell he'd been taught by Aizen not six days before. He hadn't yet mastered it like he had Geki the first time, but Aizen had complimented him on his talents in spiritual arts. He dashed back, faced the ryoka, gripped his zanpaku-tô with both hands- its tip pointing straight at him like a gun- and began the chant:

"_Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!"_ The ryoka stood at the other end of the blade, awaiting the intimidating red ball of energy forming at the tip of Reed's zanpaku-tô. A loud explosion tore through the Seireitei, eliminating half of the walls that boxed them in. Reed stood at the other end, calmly awaiting the sight of the ryoka's limp body.

To his astonishment, instead of seeing what he'd hoped, Reed observed a mass of red hair in the smoke and wind. It could only be one of two people. Reed hoped it wasn't- "Renji Abarai!"

There stood the lieutenant of sixth company, guarding the shakkahō* with his zanpaku-tô. He was tensed, so much so that it brought Reed to look upon his chest- bloody and mangled from the blast. His uniform was torn to the point of no restoration, and Reed could see two of his ribs poking out from the wound.

"Abarai…you idiot! What in the hell were you thinking?!" Reed exclaimed. Despite all this, he was glad it hadn't been Masato blocking the attack.

"Ichi-go…" he uttered to the shocked ryoka standing behind him. Reed could see even his shihakushō had been slightly scathed in the explosion, despite being guarded by Renji . "Run. Get away. I'll take care of this guy." He coughed blood.

"But…Renji! Your"-

"Go!" Renji ordered, nearly choking. He knew that blast could have severely injured any normal Shinigami. Ichigo was lucky to have avoided it, or his chances of rescuing Rukia would have been close to zero.

The orange-haired ryoka boy quickly but regretfully left, leaving Abarai to face off against Reed.

"Why did you protect him?!" Reed said, furious. "That damn ryoka is causing havoc!"

Renji looked up at him with fierce eyes. "Without him, Rukia doesn't stand a chance of being rescued! I don't want her to die!"

"Why?"

"She and I…" Renji struggled to maintain his balance. His sword had only taken ¼ of the blow for him. He gritted his teeth, splattered with blood. "That is unimportant! What is is that you nearly killed me!"

"I nearly killed you?! You fucking lemming!* You jumped in the way of that when you knew what would happen!"

"Because I won't let him die." He answered simply, before collapsing onto the concrete ground in a pool of red.

* * *

Reed's hands clamped over his head. His knuckles were stark white, as were his gums, nearly bleeding from gritting his teeth so much.

"It's not…this…"

Gin laid a hand on Reed's tense shoulder. "I know it's hard to accept."

"Why isn't anyone doing anything about it? Renji nearly got himself fucking blown to bits because of it."

"That's a good thing, then, am I right? That means you're much more capable than you think. It's just unfortunate that he was in the way…"

Reed shook his head. His eyes were tightly shut, to the point where he thought he'd never be able to open them again; his entire body was strained and slightly shaking. "How do I even apologize to a lieutenant I hardly know that saved a ryoka's life?"

"No one says you have to apologize." Gin's smile turned into a smirk when Reed answered, "I guess not…"

"Captain!" a loud knock shook the door; Hitsugaya sounded annoyed. Then again, Reed thought, he always sounded and looked irritated.

"Come in." Gin answered mockingly.

Hitsugaya looked pissed. "I don't mean to intrude," he said directly to Reed, "but there has been a change in the date of Rukia Kuchiki's execution."

"I am aware…" Ichimaru prompted. Reed sat quietly and listened.

"Originally it was set for approximately one week from yesterday, but I've received news that it has been advanced…to tomorrow!"

"I understand that this is news, but I am wondering, Hitsugaya, just what it has to do with you telling me?"

Reed offered, "I didn't know about it."

"True. But that is not why I came." Hitsugaya said, and continued. "It seems as if this decision was made in response of your actions, Ichimaru!"

"What actions?" Reed asked suspectingly of Gin, who answered with a mere, "That is of no importance to you."

Hitsugaya continued, "I am also aware that Hasami is unknowing of Aizen's death."

Reed flinched. Aizen? Death? "W-when…?"

The captain sighed. "A while ago. I was surprised you were unaware of it. Even your friend, Vado, knew about it."

"Masa knew and he didn't tell me?" Reed said childishly. He and his friend told each other everything. This must not have been important to Masato, but it was to Reed. Though he hadn't known him long, Reed saw Aizen often, and the two had become accustomed to each other. Aizen was the one person Reed truly trusted, second only to his friend. But maybe…maybe he was wrong about that. He sighed as if fatigued. "Um…okay. Thanks for telling me I guess."

"Truth hurts, doesn't it?" Gin said. The smile never left his face.

"But why do you suspect Rukia's advance in execution date had something to do with whatever Gin did?" Reed asked Hitsugaya, changing the subject to avoid getting any more down about it.

"I never mentioned suspecting him of anything. It just seemed odd to me."

"Right…hey, if you don't mind, captain Hitsugaya, Gin and I were…talking"-

Hitsugaya left with a grudge. "Of course."

"Actually…" Gin said absently, "I was planning to leave about now. I suppose I need to prepare myself for Ms. Kuchiki's execution."

"Sure." Reed held the door for Ichimaru. He sat on the edge of his bed limply. Slowly, he lifted his arm to his mouth, and bit down. It wasn't hard at first, just a little nibble, but slowly, excruciatingly painfully, he sank his teeth into his left forearm. His spine tensed, his nerves screamed at him to let go. He quickly spat out the blood and held his arm, writhing with pain. "Damn it!!"

* * *

"So that's it…she just dies."

"Pretty much." Reed answered, though he was still sensitive to the word 'die' after hearing about Aizen.

He and Masato were heading up to the Sôkyoku hill, despite being told to stay away by Yamamoto. "I'm not watching to be sadistic in anyway, I just wanna see what this giant halberd looks like."

"A phoenix." Masato answered.

"Where'd you hear that?"

Masato shrugged. "Shinigami Academy. You hear all kinds of shit."

"Don't believe everything you hear Masa." Reed advised, smiling. They arrived in time. The execution hadn't even started yet, or…

"Renji??!!" Reed gaped. He was hunched over, speaking to…"Rukia??!!"

"Huh? What're you doing here?"

Reed had a mixed look of 'what-the-fuck-are-you-doing-here and shit-shit-shit-he's-gonna-kill-me!' "What am I… What do you mean? I came to see the damn execution, but it looks like someone can't quite handle what's happening!"

"Hey, you sonova"- Renji was interrupted by a white swirl of wind that blew dust into Reed's eyes. He coughed, squinting to make out the figures that now stood there with them. One was tall, about six foot something, and the others were...

"Gin…?" Reed's brows furrowed. "What're you…" His eyes bulged, seeing the tallest of the figures let the smoke clear to reveal himself.

His eyes shifted over to Reed. "Hasami…it is nice to see you again." Aizen said.

* * *

Itsutsu : Shitto- Five : Jealousy

Lemming- small rodents, once believed to commit suicide by running off cliffs

Shakkahō- a form of hadō- destruction spell- that fires a ball of red energy at the target

* * *

_Poor Reed's arm. Whatever. When I first started reading Bleach, it pissed me off that Ichigo had gotten strong enough to beat a captain-class Shinigami (Byakuya) with what seemed like little effort, when he started out as just some teenager who could see ghosts. Then, after Rukia had apologized to the Shibas about Kaien I finally said "fuck it" and started liking him. Reed's dislike for Ichigo comes from my earlier dislike. Actually my favourite characters in order from most fav. to just fav. are:  
Kurotsuchi  
Ogihci  
Jaggerjaques  
Abarai  
Madarame_


	6. Liar

_An early chapter. But only because I'm in a semi good mood and am going to represent my school in the spelling bee, of which I never signed up for. Hoo-rah...ah....*snore*_

* * *

Staring back proved to be difficult. "What kind of sick joke is this?" Reed spat.

Aizen smiled, "Surprised?" but quickly ignored Reed's answer, turning back to Renji. "Leave Rukia Kuchiki here…and go."

Renji's eyes widened, "Captain…Aizen?!" and then narrowed. "I thought you were…no. Forget that. What did you just…?!"

"How strange," Aizen interrupted. "You must've heard me. Must I repeat myself? I said…leave Rukia here and go…Abarai." The menacing look on his face tore through Reed's head. This was the same Aizen that used to visit his brother so often? At Renji's defiance, Aizen unsheathed his zanpaku-tô.

Reed only paid attention to bits of conversation… "Your defensive skills have improved…", "…I'd hate to see you die.", "…did you kill Momo?!" Masato wasn't sure anything was processing with his friend. He waved his hand in front of Reed.

"Dude." Reed's eyes twitched away from Aizen to look at his bewildered friend. "You're freakin' me out. I mean, the guy's always been like that."

"Since when..?" Reed narrowed his eyes at his friend. He was accusing Aizen of being evil?

"Forever, I guess." He paused to see what was happening; Renji was unleashing his zanpaku-tô, while Aizen was smug as ever. "Those two times he visited your brother in the Rukongai and I was there. At first I didn't know what I was seeing, it was like watching a blurry television screen; just static. But I could make out some of it, and by the second time I saw him I was sure of it. Riido…" Masato laid a hand on his shoulder unnecessarily. "I guess I've known about Aizen longer than anyone has." If only Reed knew his friend couldn't be more wrong.

MUTTSU : ITSUWARIMONO*

Reed shook his head. He was in disbelief. He watched the fight; Abarai wasn't at half Aizen's level. He easily stopped Renji's zanpaku-tō with his bare hand. As the battle continued, Reed thought it pointless for Renji to be arguing with Rukia while he was at a clear disadvantage.

But he still persisted. "I'm not leaving her. You bastard!"

"How cocky…" Reed thought. It was then that he noticed the other captain-class Shinigami off to the side. Reed could tell he was sight-impaired. "Sight-impaired…?" Reed grumbled in his head. "What kind of stupid way of saying someone's blind is that?" he snorted, reminding himself to give the author a thesaurus later on in the plot. Then he remembered; Masato had told him a very long time ago, about a month after they met, that we was partially blind in his left eye. If this Shinigami was working for Aizen, he'd probably been doing so for a while. Reed figured his blindness had something to do with it as well. He looked out the corner of his eye at Masato; calm and bored. Could that mean Masato was working for Aizen? The clash of swords took Reed out of his analyzing state as he focused his attention on…

"The ryoka?!"

There, head tilted down, feet apart, blocking the blow from Aizen, was the same carrot-headed ryoka that Reed had been so eager to kill. If Abarai hadn't stopped him...Reed thought it odd that he had healed so quickly after such a blast from his zanpaku-tō. And now, as if to thank him, the ryoka had protected Abarai from Aizen.

"What're you kneeling for? Is Rukia that heavy?" he said cockily, and looked up with determination gleaming in his eyes. "I thought I'd give you a hand, Renji."

And with that comment, the clash of blades started all over again. Reed became confused once more. He wondered when the ryoka would e stopped, when Aizen would tell him what had happened, when Masato would start acting like his best bud again… he sighed inwardly. By now, Renji was nearly dead, as was the ryoka. Reed thought it impressive that Aizen had the ability to stop his zanpaku-tō with a single finger. Now, though, his outstretched arm gripped Rukia Kuchiki- or rather, the body of her- as he ordered, "Kill her…Gin."

It all went so fast after that. the man who Reed later knew as Byakuya Kuchiki taking the blow from Gin for Rukia, the entire Gotei 13 surrounding Aizen, Gin, Tôsen, the Menos Grande, the beams of light, the "Heavens" speech from Aizen, the sky, the cliff, that kitten I just saw over there…

* * *

"Enough already!" Reed shouted, coming out of his deep sleep with a sudden jolt. "Enough about the god damn kitten you prick, the point is Aizen left! God damn author…" he grumbled and muttered to himself all morning, not bothering to wake up Masato, who was snoring loudly on the couch. He shuffled around the Central 46 before deciding he was bored enough to go outside. The sun was bright and irritating, as he made his way to the White Road gate. He didn't find permission to enter the Rukongai very sensible, as he easily leapt to the top of the wall surrounding the Seireitei. He looked over the Rukongai. It had felt like years since he' last seen his brother. Not that he was eager to…

He held out his zanpaku-tô at an arm's length, his brows creased with concentration. Over the months when he wasn't busy, he'd meet Masato just outside of the Shinōreijutsuin to work on a technique he was developing. Reed's zanpaku-tô worked in a similar manner to Zaraki's eye patch, only instead of eating up spirit energy, it gathered the energy of other spirits around him. In a simpler explanation, it gathered reishi* in the air around him, which emanated from the sword constantly, unless Reed willed it to do otherwise. For this reason, Reed was incapable of masking his spiritual pressure, but his zanpaku-tô had a much more meaningful task for this ability.

He held out his blade further, so that it nearly penetrated the Shakonmaku.* he released, "Disuto-shon Mijin*…" and the blade easily slipped through the reishi barrier that surrounded the Seireitei. Any other Soul Reaper would have had trouble crossing the barrier, but because it was made up of reishi, it worked to Reed's advantage. He leaned over the edge of the wall, as if attempting suicide, and fell, torso facing the ground below him. He let gravity take him partly to his destination, as he slowed and landed with ease. He then began his long walk to his old home, where he'd left his brother without even a word of parting. He'd felt bad the night after, but was too lazy to do anything about it. Anxiousness to become a Shinigami had kept him from ever visiting his brother in the nine months that had passed. Reed had to admit, he felt a little weird about seeing his brother again after becoming so strong, but he knew it would be worse if he just stayed behind.

He approached the semi nice small-ish house he used to stay in, as nostalgia flooded his mind. He was suddenly surrounded with the smell of his old life; old socks and cheap perfume (a gift from his brother's girlfriend to Aojiroi). He approached cautiously, afraid his brother might be upset. But when he peered in the window, all he saw were smiling faces. His brother was laughing, having tea with his (noticeably new) girlfriend and her parents. There was also some brat running around like he owned the place.

"So he's decided to replace me, eh?" Reed thought aloud quietly. He hesitated for a moment. Should he go in? Or leave? He hadn't seen his brother in so long, he almost…almost…missed the way he used to yell at him, and occasionally smack him upside the head. But if he went in, all "Hey bro what's up? You look great! Oh is this your girlfriend? How pretty!", it would be awkward. Reed sighed, undecided, and headed off a ways to his and Masato's favorite lake. He flopped down underneath a tree, blocking the heat of the sun from burning his pale skin. That made him think.

"Pale…" he rolled the word over his tongue. Tasted it in his mouth. He wondered where he'd heard that before. "Oh…right…" it dawned on him; the evening when Aojiroi told him what his name meant.

* * *

"Aoji?"

"Yes, Riido?"

"What's your name mean? Aojiroi…"

"Hm?" Young-Version-Aojiroi set down the plate he was washing. He looked at his younger brother, eager with shining blue eyes, and smiled slightly. "Aojiroi…it means 'pale'."

"Ohh! I get it!" Young-Version-Reed said happily. "'Cause you're white as a ghost!"

"Yes. I suppose I am."

* * *

That, Reed thought, was quite a long time ago. Then, he and Aojiroi were still friends. He knew if he walked in his brother would probably give him the beating of his life for leaving without saying anything. Of course, he couldn't just walk in and introduce himself. Besides, he looked a lot happier with him and his pesky friend gone. Reluctantly, Reed exhaled and stood once more, stretching his muscles. He felt taller. He'd grown about an inch and was now at 5'6". 'Still too short.' He grumbled in his conscience. He stared at the lake water; calm, lazy underneath the sun, and a disgusting shade of green. It reminded him of his current life; the confusion with Aizen, the recent lack of communication with Masato, and the ache in his stomach he felt whenever he thought about these things. He cleared his mind with a shake of his head and began his long, slow walk back to the Seireitei.

Captain of seventh division greeted him as he re-entered the Soul Society. "Hasami. You don't look well." He said in a voice that, for some reason, reminded him of a dog.

'Duh. He is a dog. A really big one…' Reed slumped in his thoughts. "I'm not well. Ya seen Masa?" he asked, looking up at the captain, who towered over him at a staggering 9"4'. Reed already knew from General Yamamoto that Masato would be assigned to squad seven.

Komamura shook his large, canine head. "I was told by Captain Hitsugaya that he is resting."

Reed let out a long, loud exhale. "Thanks." And continued on his way. It almost ticked him off that Masato seemed to nap quite often. More often than in the Rukongai district. Not bothering to open the door quietly when he arrived, Reed flopped himself on the bed, sighing for the third time already. Amazingly, it wasn't the loud entrance that awoke Masato, but the sigh.

"What's up bud?" he yawned, rubbing his eyes. "What time's it?"

"Eleven and a half." Reed said lazily, leering out the window upon any Shinigami that happened to pass by. Silence swallowed the room, as Masato pulled on his shihakushō. He grumbled, taking it off and putting it on again, unsatisfied with the way it looked.

"Just do everything half-assed." Reed said, leaning back in his chair. Masato "huh?"d, and he repeated, "Just do everything half-assed." He looked at his friend, arms crossed, eyes drooping. "If ya don't give half a damn what you look or fight like, you're more likely to come out successful."

"Huh?" Masato said once more. "That doesn't make any sense."

Reed nodded. "If you're less worried about what anyone thinks of you, or whether you'll win or lose a battle, you're more likely to come out on top, simply 'cause you're not stressed about anything." He added as an afterthought, "'S what I do."

"Ya do not." Masato laughed. "You're just Mr. Perfect. I mean, you pretty much do whatever you want, yeah, but somehow you still get things done. I bet you don't even sleep."

"Whaddaya think these damn things are from?" Reed said, gesturing the dark circles framing his expressionless eyes. "That's how I get it done."

"Eh." Masato muttered and dropped the subject. Then an idea popped into his nearly empty head. "Hey Riido!" he jumped up excitedly. "Let's fight!"

"Hm? Fight? Why?" Reed shot out three monosyllabic questions in one sigh. Masato grinned ear-to-ear.

"Test my strength, 'course! You somehow didn't even getta go to th' Shinigami Academy. I wanna see how strong I'm getting'."

"Masa, you're talking like we're back in West Rukongai." Reed turned back to the window. "You'll find out your progress when you take your final exams, and then you'll be in Komamura's squad. We'll fight then."

"You mean, "We'll fight when I'm not being such a buzz-kill", right?"

Reed gave a soundless laugh. "Sure."

Masato creased his brows, then furrowed them, then moved one up, and one down, and repeat, repeat, repeat. "Hey, I think I got this down." He said. "Think Ikkaku'd be impressed with my…Lucky Brow Dance?"

"I think he'd assume you're copying him." Reed snorted, though he did happen to enjoy Ikkaku's Lucky Dance. He liked all the guys on squad eleven, not including Yumichika. Reed thought him too girly to be on the squad. He hadn't even seen him fight. The thought of Zaraki and Ikkaku and all those blood-thirsty demons made Reed antsy.

"Masa." He ordered, "C'mon."

"Where?" Masa asked, though without complaint. He was bored.

Reed continued walking. "You'll see."

* * *

Panting, Masato took a step back to steady himself. An inch-deep gash stretched across his torso, from right collarbone to left hip. Despite the fact, he'd lost little blood. Reed wasn't trying to kill him.

"Watch out!" Reed shouted, eyes fierce, and came at Masato's front. Masato held up his zanpaku-tô to block, but was hit from behind. The damn bastard had used shunpo.

"You know I can't think that fast!" Masato craned his head back at Reed, who looked smug.

He cocked a brow. "Oh? Is this a confession I hear?" he teased, moving his leg between Masato's, jerking him off-balance. In the midst of trying to regain his stance, Reed took position a ways away. He breathed deeply, focusing. His hand was outstretched, fist clenched.

"_Ye lord! Carriage of thunder. Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Bridge of a spinning wheel. Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams, with light divide this into six!_" Six thin beams of light, engulfed by a much more ominous, dangerous blue light surrounded Masato's mid-section. The beams of light, parallel to the ground, held Masato firmly in place.

"You know I can't use kidō well Riido!" Masato shouted desperately, knowing that- at Reed's level- the upcoming attack would be severely painful.

Reed looked mercilessly at his best friend. Palm still clenched, he merely uttered, "Then you need to learn how." and opened his fist, his palm flat and pale. Soon as he did this, the deadly blue light engulfed Masato, pain tearing through his body. As with Reed, an electrical current was added inevitably. He writhed, jerking his body, letting out a howl. Reed, realizing he was doing more than he should, quickly withdrew the attack with a swipe of his zanpaku-tô. The only thing that remained was the six rods of light, and if not for them binding Masato, he would've collapsed.

"Masa…" Reed said wearily, afraid this would be the last he'd see of his friend. To his relief, Masato coughed.

"Okay…fine…" he sputtered. "I'll wait 'til I'm a real Shinigami."

* * *

Mittsu: Itsuwarimono- Six : Impostor/Liar

Reishi- spirit particles; all things in the Soul Society are made up of these

Disuto-shon Mijin- "Particle Distortion"; Reed's zanpaku-tô's ability to diffuse spirit particles

The move Reed uses on Masato- a combination of the bakudō Rikujōkōrō (the six beams of light) and the hadō Sōkatsui (the blue light)

Rikujōkōrō- six rods prison of light

Sōkatsui- blue fire, crash down

* * *

_The only reason I remembered Sokatsui was because Rukia used it in whatever episode in the anime I'm too lazy to look it up.... So what can I say that is relevant to this chapter..? Well, I feel kind of like Reed: lazy and bored and somewhat confused as to why I feel like this right now. Comment in the reiviews if I should stop making Reed such a heartless bastard. **Important:** Review-puppy is hungry. Feed him? Please?_


	7. Madness

_Late update; yes. Scale from 1-10 on how much I care; 2. *Sigh* I'm almost getting bored with this. Odd, though, because this is my favorite chapter 'cause it introduces the arrancars. The point leading up to Reed's and Aizen's confrontation starts here, but that's at a later point. P.S. I think I'll have Reed kill Yammy 'cause 1. I don't like him, 2. It's my character and my fan-fic and I can do whatever the hell I want with it and, 3. I feel like killing someone. _

* * *

Reed huffed. He walked one way, then the other. Inhaling deeply, and then exhaling. Over and over. He'd been trying to piece together in his mind what had happened. He hadn't spoken to Masato since the day of their practice fight, fearing he might be seriously injured, judging by his absence over the past week. He could've sworn he was wearing a rut in the floor of his room.

Looking through the window, peering down at the Soul Reapers, all in their black uniforms, all with their zanpaku-tôs sheathed, some smiling, some not, none talking, began to make him sick. Wasn't there any diversity in this damned place? As he answered the knock on his door just then, he pondered leaving the Seireitei to work in the real world. Bing! Idea.

"Hasa-…you okay?" A red-haired lieutenant stared at him oddly.

A grin spread across his face, he answered. "Fine. You?"

"U-uh…" then, as if suddenly remembering why he was there, he jerked to attention. "General Yamamoto has orders for you."

"Really?" Reed said, his smile faltering just the tiniest bit. "Not my captain?"

Abarai shook his head. "It's important…It's about the ryoka."

Just then Reed's grin faded to a subtle frown, but soon did it reappear as an ear-to-ear smirk. "Sure."

SEBUN : HAKKYOU

Clangs and chatters filled the air around him. He breathed in the smell of sweat from a nearby gym class; they looked about Reed's age, and lazily walked through the winding roads, glad to finally be wearing something other than a boring shihakushō. His figure stretched in the sun's heat, gigai* keeping his spiritual powers to a minimum. He approached the school.

"Hmmm…where am I, even?" he wondered aloud to himself. Then he looked at a license plate on someone's car. "Karakura town, eh? Seems fine ta me." Reed hadn't noticed he'd started talking like he did back in West Rukongai, until one of the students on the track stopped and yelled to him,

"Hey!" she waved her arms, as if expecting Reed couldn't see her. "You new?"

"Huh?" Reed answered stupidly, then remembered why he was even in the real world in the first place. "Oh, oh yeah. Sure, I'm new." He approached her from where he stood on the sidewalk and immediately noticed a height difference. 'Damn it,' Reed cursed inside his head. 'She's taller 'n me.'

"You should check in inside." She said, though it was obvious. "What's your name?"

"Why you needa know?" Reed wanted to ask, but refrained himself. "Uhh…Reed."

She tilted her shaggy black head to the side. "Reed?"

"Yeah, like Riido?" he said, pronouncing it in Japanese. A light bulb went off above her head, as she smiled and introduced herself as, "Tatsuki."

"Nice to meet ya too, Shaggy." Reed muttered to himself as he approached the entrance. Instead of "checking in" like Tatsuki had told him, he quickly strutted down the halls, looking for a worthy candidate. "You look like a fine young man!" he said as he eagerly shoved the kid into a janitor's closet. 'Easy enough.' Reed thought. 'Just strip the kid, knock 'em out, steal 'is uniform and I'm on my way.'

* * *

"Kurosaki…" a deep voice rumbled from behind an orange head. He turned around slightly, mumbling, "What, Chad?" Chad looked the way he wanted Kurosaki to look. "I recognize him…"

"From where?" his friend asked, a bit skeptically.

Chad took a moment to think. "The Soul Society. I saw him when I was fighting that captain…Kyōraku?" he said, vaguely remembering a short, stocky Soul Reaper passing by him during his battle. It hadn't yet occurred to him who exactly he was, just that he knew him from somewhere.

His friend studied the figure; kind of short, definitely stocky, with peach-fuzz blonde hair. He lazily scratched his stomach, as Kurosaki wondered how the teacher could have missed this new student. As if sensing he was being observed, his eyes twitched in the direction of Kurosaki, who merely turned his head to the front of the room quickly. By lunch, he ignored the supposed Soul Reaper quickly gathered his friends; Chad, Uryu, and Orihime.

"Chad…" he prompted, as his massive friend began,

"I first noticed him when I was fighting Kyōraku. I didn't really notice him then, except…why would a Soul Reaper be here, now? I can't sense any spiritual pressure, and neither can Ichigo," he looked at his friend, who nodded. "but he's definitely got some power."

"Actually…" Ichigo said before Uryu or Orihime could input. "I fought him. in the Seireitei."

Orihime's voice squeaked out, "And?"

Ichigo looked down, as if ashamed. "He nearly blew Renji to bits." He looked up, into his friends' eyes. "He's strong. And if he's here, than means the Soul Society probably isn't done with me quite yet."

"Ichigo, won't that mean they're after you?" Uryu pushed his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose. "If they are, why wouldn't they have attacked yet?"

"I don't know… Orihime. Chad. Uryu. Keep an eye out for him. And also, on that new kid, Shinji."

"He kind of gives me the creeps. "Chad said deeply, but his comment went unnoticed. Ichigo's-Uryu's and Inoue's as well- eyes were focused on the suspected Soul Reaper, wandering the track by himself.

"HOLLOW! HOLLOW! HOLLOW!"

"Jesus freaking Christ!!" Ichigo jumped; his heart ready to burst into confetti. He panted. His friends, startled by it as well, tried to regain their breath.

"A hollow?" Chad muttered.

"Guess so…" Ichigo looked around for it, not believing that the said deputy pass captain Ukitake gave him actually worked. He bobbed his head left and right, only able to determine the hollow's location by the piercing shriek that came from behind him. He spun around, seeing only the remnants of what used to be a hollow. "Someone's already…" his eyes widened at the sight.

"Looks like I'm not the only Soul Reaper here…" Reed said ominously as he gazed back in Ichigo's direction. Ichigo's eyes flinched, but only for a second. And in that second, Reed appeared right next to him, the thin side of his left palm digging into his abdomen. He coughed, before being sent crashing into the school wall; hard enough to crack the brick, but controlled enough to not break through the wall entirely. Reed grinned at his own strength, despite being held back significantly by his gigai.*

Uryu stepped up to the Shinigami, as Chad and Inoue rushed to their injured friend.

"Who sent you?" Uryu demanded, figuring what Ichigo had told them moments ago was true. Reed shrugged vaguely.

"The Soul Society." He cocked a brow at the injured boy; fierce with anger. "To watch your friend here."

"Ichigo?" Inoue and Uryu said at the same time. Reed smiled. "Yup."

"Didn't even tell what I'm s'pposed to watch for, only that I'm s'pposed to keep an eye on the guy." He watched as Ichigo regained his balance, a murderous look in his eyes. "Guess I'm pretty much done 'ere, though. I'll be on my way an' you can get back ta doin' whatever you do 'ere."

"Wait!" Ichigo scowled, stopping Reed in his tracks. "You're that Soul Reaper from before, aren't you? The one that nearly blew a hole through Renji!"

Reed had wanted to avoid coming into verbal contact with him, but he realized he was in a position where he couldn't back down. He fired back, "My intention was to hit you, ryoka! In case ya hadn't noticed, Abarai just jumped in front of ya. Wasn't my fault he got hurt."

"It was your attack wasn't it?"

Reed snorted. "Stupid. Of course it was mine. And I couldn't stop it. 'Sides, you shouldn't be so worked up about some lieutenant you'll probably never see again." He stepped carefully around Ichigo's near-fuming self. "If I was you, I'd watch out fer more important stuff; like that shifty guy…what's 'is name…Shinji?"

"Shinji?" Chad and Ichigo said. "What would he have to do with this?"

"Dunno, Carrot-top." Reed turned and walked away, stepping into the sky, the only thing holding him up being the small amount of reishi surrounding him. "But I'd watch my back if I was you!"

"What was…?" Uryu dropped his arms, unknowingly clenching his weapon.

"I can't say…" Ichigo said lamely, as he watched the Soul Reaper stun spectators below as he casually strutted off into the sky. By the time they went back in, Ichigo could still see a small speck of the school's uniform, indicating Reed had no intention of leaving any time soon.

* * *

"Got a bullet with a name on it, bullet with a name…" Reed uttered to himself. He was beginning to get attached to this new song. "Workin' harder 'n a hundred black mules…comin' from the hotter than hell, no dinner bell…" he hesitated, sensing something far off in the distance, his voice growing lower. "The cars, money, fame, attention…games attention…Masato?" he almost wished it were his friend. The real world was lonely without someone to joke around with.

Instead of the familiar "Wha's up?" his friend would have given him, a crippling shudder creased his spine. He could sense the spiritual pressure of something coming. It hadn't quite arrived yet, but he could tell when it did, it'd be strong. Very strong.

Reed wondered if the ryoka kid would be alright. He thought he'd heard 'Ichigo'. "Strawberry? Wait, what do I care?" he quickly shook off his anxiety; he was just a human, and kept walking on his way when he sensed a hollow. Ducking below an awning, he spied a medium-leveled hollow, spines sticking skyward out of its bony back, tongue tasting the air. It sniffed for a while, ever so slowly approaching Reed's hiding place, where he already had a Shakkahō forming in the palm of his hand. And just as the hollow shrieked at finding its prey, he let loose, not having time to recite the incantation before the hadō had exploded in a fiery red light, engulfing the hollow. When he opened his clenched eyes, it was gone.

"Wha..?" he stared at his palm. "How could I have…without the incantation..?" he looked up again, all around the area, as if to confirm he'd gotten rid of the hollow. Reed knew his gigai wasn't normal; his assignment was to enter the world of the living and to keep an eye on Ichigo, but first thing once arriving, he went to Kisuke Urahara, former captain of twelfth division and former third seat of second division.

* * *

"Ah, Hasami-san!" Urahara had exclaimed once Reed entered his shop. Reed paused abruptly. How did this man know his name?

"This some sort o' conspiracy or somethin'?" he inquired suspiciously. Urahara smiled and shrugged vaguely.

"Seems to me you're quite popular in the Soul Society?" he said, leaning back, hat and hair blocking his eyes. This only made him more suspicious to Reed, who sat across from him, a cup of tea before him on the table.

"Not as much as I'd like to think." He answered. "You Kisuke?"

"Hm? Why the first-name basis, Hasami?"

Reed twitched. "Urahara…"

"That would be me!" he said cheerily. It irked Reed how queer he was.

Reed unnecessarily cleared his throat. "I need a favor."

"What's that?" Urahara's eyes remained emotionless.

"Gigai. I wasn't given one when I came, so I need one."

"Why's that?' he asked. "You were sent here to do something for the Soul Society, correct?" Again, Reed nodded mostly to himself. "Then you should be fine. If you're tracking someone…then you won't need a gigai, will you?"

"How'd you know I was tracking someone?"

"Oh, the look on your face." He replied vaguely, waving his hand in dismissal. He stood, irking Reed. "Anyway, I'm actually out of gigais."

"Out?!" Reed stood as well, maintaining himself, despite being seven inches shorter than the man. "How can you be out?"

"Eh," he shrugged. "happens. Though I suppose I could check the back…" he said before disappearing. Reed grumbled and sat down. He recalled General Yamamoto making it clear to him to stay as far as possible from the ryoka. He couldn't help but be curious, and what harm could he do in being able to see him in a way that the ryoka could see him too? None, Reed concluded. Nothing at all could be done about his decision.

"A-ha!" Urahara appeared again with what appeared to be a gigai. "I found this beneath some old junk from way back." He brushed the dirt off and presented it to Reed, as though an expensive gift.

"You sure that thing is safe?" Reed's brows knitted together, his face reading, "The fuck are you smoking?" Urahara dipped his chin, his one visible eye gleaming. "Why don't you find out?"

* * *

Well, he'd finally figured out why it was in the back, hidden among Urahara's other inventions. "So…" he said, standing and feeling his gigai as if trying it out for the first time. "This is it? A gigai that doesn't limit a Soul Reapers powers. Of course…" he grumbled, groping for his zanpaku-tô. "It's still limited in some ways."

Curiosity growing inside his mind, he tested his shunpo. "Eh? Even shunpo? This thing's…" then another idea popped into his head. Why not fight someone? There had to be another Soul Reaper here. "Somewhere…" he breathed in deep. He was never good at sensing spiritual pressure; he was lucky to have found those two hollows. Trying in vain to find anything, he headed off in some direction. North or West, he really didn't care. Not until night did he finally stop to rest in a park. He'd searched everywhere and still couldn't find a single Shinigami. What was with this place? Sighing disappointment, Reed slumped against the base of a tree, letting sleep take over his lids. Huh. Even with this new gigai he still got tired.

"What to do, what to do…?" Reed's attention span was lacking the next day; one minute he was ready to clobber a hoard of fifth graders, the next he was looking for hollows, and currently he was just looking for something exciting to do. "Hey…how 'bout that, huh?" Reed spied between the trees and bushes…two men, one looking pale and emotionless, the other towering over him, about the same height as Sajin Komamura. Then he recognized it; the spiritual pressure that had nearly broken his spine the day before.

"Ha! I've been here a few times in a mask. The world of the living is such a bore."

"Stop complaining." The shorter, pale one replied to the large one. "I told you I could do this alone. You were the one who wanted to come along, Yammy."

'Yammy?' Reed snorted. 'What kind of name is that?' then, he noticed the human group approaching. They stared at the crater that Yammy had created, unaware their souls were about to be devoured by the brute. But wait… 'Isn't she…Tatsuki?!' Reed recognized the girl from the other day; the one who'd told him to "check in". Had she actually survived? Was her soul that strong? Reed wondered as Yammy approached her.

"Ulquiorra!" he called to his permanently straight-faced partner, "This the one?!"

He answered mercilessly, "Take a good look, idiot. Her soul's being crushed just by being close to you. She's garbage."

Despite feeling some sort of sympathy for the girl, Reed's heart couldn't help but speed up as Yammy lifted his leg to kick the girl's brains out. 'What am I feeling?' he shook himself mentally. 'I should be worried about her, but…' he looked up again. Yammy's attack had been blocked by Ichigo's friend, Chad. Reed recognized him, gritting his teeth at the ryoka. 'The hell?' he watched the events unfold; Chad's unusual right arm being shredded by Yammy's strength, Inoue's impressive shield, her Koten Zanshun*, Ichigo himself appearing to protect her, his strength, then Urahara and a female companion, Ulquiorra's and Yammy's departure…and through all of it, he couldn't help but grit his teeth when any of the ryoka survived a hit from one of them. Why was he suddenly feeling like this? Normally, he'd have been on at least Urahara's side, hoping the two arrancar* to be defeated. Lately he'd been feeling odd. Maybe this was just a side-effect from Urahara's elaborate gigai.

Reed hoped this was true, as he slowly closed his eyes, knowing that by what Ulquiorra had said meant that he could come into contact with Aizen again. That is, if he could meet with another arrancar first.

* * *

Sebbun : Hakkyou- Seven :Insanity/Madness

Gigai- artificial body that Shinigami use to remain in the world of the living for an extended period of time

Koten Zanshun- Orihime's attack ability; Lone God Slicing Shield

Arrancar- a hollow that has removed its mask and gained Shinigami-like powers

* * *

_Holy shit. A lot of errors when I first uploaded this... Mfmh...I suppose I could say Reed's personality reflects my own. I personally favor the arrancars- not so much Aizen, actually- and just about anything else that goes against "the good guys." I kind of like the vizards but they ain't my favorite. Also: Review-Puppy is still hungry. He's very famished. Feed him, damn it. _


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